Islamabad Paper – “Pakistan and the Expansion of UNSC”

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is a key component of the UN body, but has been under the spotlight when it comes to the issues of reform and expansion. Presently, the Security Council is composed of five permanent members, United States, France, Britain, China, Russia and 10 non-permanent members elected in two groups for a two-year term. Questions regarding the democratic credentials of the council have often arisen and there has been a lot of debate about the unfair advantage of the five permanent members with the veto power.

The issue is more about representation and more democracy and Pakistan has reiterated its concerns about these issues time and again in the UN forum. Pakistan has time and again laid emphasis and has been persistent in its stance that fair and equitable UNSC reforms must be carried out, in order to make this UN organ more effective and democratic and thus meet the aspirations of all the member states.